Mahabalipuram, India, August 3, 2025: The fourth edition of the Asian Surfing Championships will begin on Sunday, August 3, on the beaches of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India.
The Mahabalipuram meet from August 3-12 will also serve as the final qualifiers for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
Hosts India will field a 12-strong team, and are hosting the continental surfing championships for the first time. Last year’s event was held in the Maldives.
Over 150 surfers from 20 countries and territories will compete in Mahabalipuram. Apart from India, they come from: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
The event will mirror international surfing formats, starting with seeding rounds where the top two from each heat progress directly to the main draw, while the rest get another chance through repechage heats. Action then will move through quarterfinals, semi-finals and end in a four-surfer final.
Surfing made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 with two medal events – men’s shortboard and women’s shortboard. The same events were part of the Paris 2024 Olympics.